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White bread , giving me stomach cramps

17 replies

nutcracker · 15/08/2007 10:24

I am a bit of a bread addict and love nothing more than a nice sandwich on white bread.

In a bid to stop myself eating so much bread, I swapped to wholemeal, various different ones, as I find it more filling andx tbh don't like it as much so tend to eat less of it.

Anyway, yesterday my dad left half a crusty white loaf here, and so I had a andwich with it and then ate the rest later on (fat pig emoticon) and now today I have awful stomach cramps and am convinced it is the bread.

What is in it that might not agree with me ?

OP posts:
catrin · 15/08/2007 10:30

Have same problem - ended up being hospitalised after an egg sandwich with suspected appendicitis. Docs say it is in my mind, chinese herbalist person says intolerance to wheat caused by eating too much (student days = toast, cheese on toast, pasta, pizza, repeat repeat etc.). I stopped eating all wheat for 3 months, lost 2 1/2 stone and felt great. Reintroduced it slowly, but to be honest, it just doesn't suit me and I bloat and have horrendous pains. Told doc I could feel it travelling every millimetre of my system and he said it was impossible, but i truly could. It was HORRIBLE.

Anyway, hope that helps

nutcracker · 15/08/2007 10:32

Blimey, sorry i asked now lol, only kidding. Sounhds horrendous.

I eat alot of what you have just mentioned, anxd I do always feel bloated and quite often have stomach cramps first thing in the morning and late at night.

Is it hard to cut wheat out ?? I never ever read food labels.

OP posts:
catrin · 15/08/2007 10:38

It is a real arse to be honest, it's in everything. Including alcohol.
Though by the time I stopped eating it, my stomach hurt so much I was prepared to do anything and it made such a difference it was really worth it in the long run. It makes mealtimes a pain as wheat is such an easy meal, but if that's what is causing you such discomfort, try and cut it out for a bit and see if it makes a difference.

nutcracker · 15/08/2007 10:41

Sounds like it is defo worth me giving it a try, thanks

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 15/08/2007 10:42

you could try broad-brush cutting out to start with (ie no bready things, pasta or pizza) rather than reading labels to eradicate all trace of gluten

nutcracker · 15/08/2007 10:44

Was just thinking that MrsB, but god only knows what I will eat then, as those food are what I live on really.

Oh well, worth a try i think.

OP posts:
Kathyis6incheshigh · 15/08/2007 10:48

OK, well, according to this book, the problem has arisen because of something called the Chorleywood Process which is basically the very fast way used to make bread these days.
Traditionally bread was made by a process which included anything from several hours to several days of fermentation, which, IIRC, gave the yeast a long time to do something to the wheat which made it more digestible. The Chorleywood Process speeded it up to around 30-40 minutes, which may have resulted in a less digestible loaf.

It might be worth your having a go at making some bread yourself and giving it a very slow rise, and see if that helps. If it does you could get a bread machine with a fairly slow programme. You could even use some of the techniques described in the book (sponge, old dough, sourdough) and incorporate them into bread machine baking to give it an even longer fermentation time without too much trouble.
Or you might be able to find a proper bakery near you which uses more traditional methods.

nutcracker · 15/08/2007 10:49

Hmmmm me and baking don't mix tbh, might ask my mum to make some lol.

OP posts:
MrsBadger · 15/08/2007 10:51

ooh, that's interesting Kathy.
Waitrose do a bunch of 'artisan' type breads that are meant to be more slowly fermented.
Or rye bread?

Kathyis6incheshigh · 15/08/2007 10:52

LOL Nutcracker.
Well, if you do find slow-risen bread easier to tolerate, bread machines are dead easy to use (you just measure out the ingredients, which takes about 5 mins, and press the button and hey presto, a loaf of bread a few hours later) - no cooking skill needed or anything.

Meeely2 · 15/08/2007 11:07

could be IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)? I have this and have to avoid wheat - get very bloated and can switch from squirts to constipation in a matter of hours.

Very common, just an intolerance to some foods and causes your intestine to spasm. Can get peppermint oil capsules or colpermin to take following every meal, sooths your insides, i find them very good. Symptoms can be made worse with stress - so sometimes i can sneak in a lovely sandwich and only suffer a few embarrasing lady fluffs...but other times if live if winding me up, i can have a sarnie and end up doubled over.

tarantula · 15/08/2007 11:17

I was going to say what Kathy said. Read an article about it recently. There are people who are allergic to wheat but not so many as previously thought as it is the process of cooking the bread that is causing the problem for most people not the wheat itself. Try soda bread for a change maybe

mummag · 17/08/2007 22:56

i get the bloating etc after eating white bread etc. But since i had my third child, i have been feeling sick and bloated with an upset tummy. Also have a pain in my tum all the time. Really getting fed up, am tempted to go gluten and wheat free (my daughter coeliac so know how hard this would be), but as a veggie that doesnt eat fish i maybe well and truly shafted as its in most pre prepared things! any ideas how to stop the pain? fed up!

ChicaChicaWaWa · 27/10/2012 23:14

Yes, same here! I have always known that my body didn't like white bread very much, but love it so much that I tolerated the side effects. However, a few months ago I wanted to lose a couple of extra pounds and decided to cut out all white bread and limit brown bread. The difference was amazing - I felt less bloated, had more energy, my hair grew faster and no tummy problems. During the week I eat a lot of salad, veggies and no bread but do allow myself some bread at the weekend - today I had two hot dog bread rolls and now my stomach is really cramping. I think it is time for me to accept that it just does not agree with me and the side effects are not worth the two minutes on my lips!

EnglishGirlApproximately · 27/10/2012 23:23

Snap! I started eating wholesale quite a few years ago and I just struggle white now. I get really painful indigestion and constipation. It is only sliced white and packet rolls though. I'm ok with white pitta, ciabatta etc. and bread from the bakery is also fine.

I think its the processing described ^^ up there rather than gluten in my case. The only sliced breads that don't bother me are Burgens Soya and Linseed and Warburtons seeded.

I would try some white from a good bakery and see what happens.

EnglishGirlApproximately · 27/10/2012 23:23

*wholemeal !

EnglishGirlApproximately · 27/10/2012 23:26

Also, try making soda bread. Its incredibly easy. Dp can't cook at all but makes it no problem. It doesn't keep but its so nice you'll eat it straight away anyway.

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